Ecuador suspends Julian Assange’s internet access, denies visitors

Ecuador has confirmed today that it has suspended Julian Assange’s internet access in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. In a message posted to Twitter, the Ecuadorian government says that the suspension is the result of Assange breaking a late 2017 agreement “not to issue messages that supposed an interference in relation to other States.”

Courage can confirm that, in addition to having his internet access cut off, Julian Assange is currently unable to receive visitors at the Ecuadorian embassy.

In response to the suspension, Brian Eno and Yanis Varoufakis issued a letter entitled, ‘Restore Julian Assange’s access to visitors and the outside world!’ They write:

it seems that the Ecuadorian government [ ] has been ‘leaned’ on mercilessly not only to stop attempting to provide Julian with a diplomatic route to safety but to drive him out of their London Embassy as well. In addition to US pressure, the Spanish government is also using its leverage over Ecuador to silence Julian’s criticisms of Madrid’s imprisonment of Catalan politicians and, in particular, of the arrest of Catalonia’s former premier in Germany.

The letter concludes by calling on supporters to sign a new petition, launched by DiEM25, calling for an end to Assange’s isolation. Sign the petition here.

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno gradually ratcheted up restrictions, surveillance, and threats on Julian Assange over the course of his presidential term to build a pretext for ultimately revoking asylum and inviting British police into Ecuador’s embassy.